Getting Started

The easiest way to begin using JMeter is to first download the latest production release and install it. The release contains all of the files you need to build and run Web, FTP, JDBC, and JNDI tests. If you want to perform JDBC testing, then you will, of course, need the appropriate JDBC driver from your vendor. JMeter does not come with any JDBC drivers.

Next, start JMeter and go through the Building a Test Plan section of the User Guide to familiarize yourself with JMeter basics (for example, adding and removing elements).

Finally, go through the appropriate section on how to build a specific type of Test Plan. For example, if you are interested in testing a Web application, then see the section Building a Web Test Plan. The other specific Test Plan sections are for JDBC , FTP, WebServices, and LDAP .

Once you are comfortable with building and running JMeter Test Plans, you can look into the various configuration elements (timers, listeners, assertions, and others) which give you more control over your Test Plans.

Requirements

Java Version

JMeter version 1.8 requires a fully compliant JDK1.4 or higher.

JMeter 1.8.1 and 1.9 requires a fully compliant JDK1.3 or higher. This may seem odd, but we are making a strong effort currently to be compatible with the 1.3 JDK's, though it is expected JMeter performs best with 1.4 or better. Because JMeter uses only standard Java APIs (java.*), please do not file bug reports if your JRE fails to run JMeter because of JRE implementation issues.

JDK1.4.1Beta appears to be buggy, and there are some GUI elements that won't work correctly in this JVM.

Operating Systems

JMeter has been tested and works under Unix (Solaris, Linux, etc) and Windows (98, NT, 2000, XP). Also works on OpenVMS. JMeter is a 100% Java application and should run correctly on any system that has a compliant Java implementation.

Optional

If you plan on doing JMeter development or want to use Sun's Java Standard Extension packages, then you will need one or more optional packages listed below.

Java Compiler

If you want to build the JMeter source or develop JMeter plugins, then you will need a fully compliant JDK1.3 (1.4 for JMeter 1.8) or higher compiler.

SAX XML Parser

JMeter comes with Apache's Xerces XML parser. You have the option of telling JMeter to use a different XML parser. To do so, include the classes for the third-party parser in JMeter's classpath, and update the jmeter.properties file with the full classname of the parser implementation.

Installation

Downloading the Latest Release

To install a release build, simply unzip the zip/tar file into the directory where you want JMeter to be installed. Provided that you have a JDK correctly installed and the JAVA_HOME environment variable set, there is nothing more for you to do.

Downloading Nightly Builds

If you do not mind working with beta-quality software, then you can download and run the latest nightly build.

To install a nightly build, unzip the zip/tar file into the directory where you want JMeter to be installed. Then, open a shell or command prompt and change to JMeter's top-level directory. Next, type "build install". Provided that you have a JDK correctly installed and the JAVA_HOME environment variable set, JMeter should be installed successfully.

Running JMeter

To run JMeter, run the jmeter.bat (for Windows) or jmeter (for Unix) file.

JMeter's Classpath

JMeter automatically finds classes from jars in its /lib and /lib/ext directories. If you want to add other JAR files to JMeter's classpath, then you must copy them to JMeter's "lib" directory. If you have developed new JMeter specific components, then you should jar them and copy the jar into JMeter's /lib/ext directory. JMeter will automatically find JMeter components in any jars found here.

You can also install utility Jar files in $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext

Note that setting the CLASSPATH environment variable will have no effect. This is because JMeter is started with "java -jar", and the java command silently ignores the CLASSPATH variable, and the -classpath/-cp options when -jar is used. [This occurs with all Java programs, not just JMeter.]

Using a Proxy Server

If you are testing from behind a firewall/proxy server, you may need to provide JMeter with the firewall/proxy server hostname and port number. To do so, run the jmeter.bat/jmeter file from a command line with the following parameters:

Alternatively, you can use --proxyHost, --proxyPort, --username, and --password

Non-GUI Mode

For non-interactive testing, you may choose to run JMeter without the GUI. To do so, use the following command options

-n This specifies JMeter is to run in non-gui mode -t [name of JMX file that contains the Test Plan]. -l [name of JTL file to log sample results to]. -r Run all remote servers specified in jmeter.properties (or remote servers specified on command line by overriding properties)

The script also lets you specify the optional firewall/proxy server information:

-H [proxy server hostname or ip address] -P [proxy server port]

jmeter -n -t my_test.jmx -l log.jtl -H my.proxy.server -P 8000

Server Mode

For distributed testing , run JMeter in server mode, and then control each server from the GUI.

The jmeter-server/jmeter-server.bat script should start rmiregistry for you with the appropriate classpath. if it fails to do so, [:../Remote: read the details] about starting the jmeter server.

Run jmeter-server/jmeter-server.bat, plus these optional commands:

The script also lets you specify the optional firewall/proxy server information:

-H [proxy server hostname or ip address] -P [proxy server port]

jmeter-server -H my.proxy.server -P 8000

Overriding Properties Via The Command Line

Java system properties, JMeter properties, and logging properties can be overriden directly on the command line (instead of modifying jmeter.properties). To do so, use the following options:

The command line properties are processed early in startup, but after the logging system has been set up. Attempts to use the -J flag to update log_level or log_file properties will have no effect.

Logging and error messages

If JMeter detects an error, a message will be written to the log file. The log file name is defined in the jmeter.properties file. It is normally defined as jmeter.log , and will be found in the JMeter startup directory, i.e. bin.

When running on Windows, the file may appear as just jmeter unless you have set Windows to show file extensions. [Which you should do anyway, to make it easier to detect viruses and other nasties that pretend to be text files...]

As well as recording errors, the jmeter.log file records some information about the test run. For example:

The log file can be helpful in determining the cause of an error, as JMeter does not interrupt a test to display an error dialogue.

Configuring JMeter

If you wish to modify the properties with which JMeter runs you need to either modify the jmeter.properties inside of the /bin directory or create your own copy of the jmeter.properties and specify it in the command line (jmeter [properties file]).

Parameters

Attribute

Description

Required

ssl.provider

You can specify the class for your SSL implementation. If you are using the JSSE from sun, then it is:
com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.Provider. JMeter, by default, should provide https support is you are using JDK1.4 or if you use JDK1.3 with the JSSE class jars in your JMeter classpath.

No

xml.parser

You can specify an implementation as your XML parser. The default value is:
org.apache.xerces.parsers.SAXParser

No

user.dir

The directory JMeter will first go to for saving and loading test scripts.

No

remote_hosts

Comma-delimited list of remote JMeter hosts. If you are running JMeter in a distributed environment, list the machines where you have JMeter remote servers running. This will allow you to control those servers from this machine's GUI

No

not_in_menu

A list of components you do not want to see in JMeter's menus. As JMeter has more and more components added, you may wish to customize your JMeter to show only those components you are interested in. You may list their classname or their class label (the string that appears in JMeter's UI) here, and they will no longer appear in the menus.